The diary
by ohhockeydays
Summary: Just a short oneshot. What life is like for the Henry and Catherine Tilney.                                   Disclaimer: I own the plot, nothing else


_Hello._

_If you are reading this please stop right now. This is my private diary, meant for my eyes only. If your name is not Catherine Tilney, put this down right now. If you keep on reading I shall punish you most ardently for the rest of my existence. HENRY! Put my diary down, right now!_

Henry Tilney put the book down quickly. He sometimes thought that his wife knew him far too well. But it was just so tempting to read the thoughts her pretty little head formed. So tempting, in fact, that he had tried to read her diary for the whole of their married life. At first she had simply hidden it but he had always found it. Now she had taken to carrying it around constantly and putting it in a locked drawer at night. He had finally managed to get a hold of it today while she was busy entertaining one of her friends. She knew exactly how to make him feel guilty though. He couldn't possibly read it now.

She saw right through him. It was actually surprisingly refreshing. They argued a lot, not so much because they were really angry at each other but because it was fun. It helped them practice witticism and self-control. He had been happily surprised when he got to know his wife even better. She truly was his equal. He had loved her for a long time, he just loved her even more now. She was a wonderful housekeeper, an attentive wife and an excited mother-to-be. But there was something else about her, a certain glow that only she had, a passion. He loved being around her, teasing her, reading with her. He loved her, with all his heart. He had never regretted asking her to marry him and he hoped that she didn't regret accepting him. He couldn't imagine his life without her.

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Catherine said goodbye to Ms. Sanders. She had noticed that her diary was gone about fifteen minutes ago. She hoped her warning had been enough to get Henry to put down the book. She could be quite manipulative when she needed to be. She found him in his study reading a novel.

"Henry, where is my diary?"

"Right here, my love."

She glared at him.

"You didn't read it, did you?"

He smirked.

"What would you do if I said that I did?"

She tried to take the book from his grasp.

"Not so fast, Catherine. You didn't answer my question."

So he wanted to spar with her. That could easily be arranged.

"I would write to your sister to ask if I could stay with her for a couple of months. I would also tell Mrs. Hopkins of my plans and that you would feel quite lonely now I was gone."

She smirked when he paled. Mrs. Hopkins had quite a "fascination" with clergymen.

"Well done, Cathy. I feel very glad now that I didn't read you diary."

"You should be, Henry. I honestly don't understand your fascination with it."

"Is it wrong for me to want to know what my wife is thinking?"

"You could just ask me, you know."

"Yes, but you don't tell me everything. You edit!"

"Of course I do. You don't tell me all your thoughts either, Henry."

"But that is different!"

"How so?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"Because I already know my feelings."

"So it isn't really different after all, Henry. We should know our own feelings best. Now, have you finished reading that novel yet? I have heard much good about it."

"No, I still have a few chapters left."

"You read so slow, Henry."

He smiled at her.

"Your impatience is quite endearing sometimes, Cathy."

"Hold your tongue, Henry. It is not supposed to be endearing. I have to go and speak to the gardener now. Are you sure you will survive without me?"

"I shall try to for your sake, Cathy. I love you, you know."

"I love you too, Henry."

She left him and went outside. It took her a while to realize that she had left her diary with Henry. Oh well! If only he knew that her real diary was hidden in a secret drawer in her desk. What he was holding was, in fact, her housekeeping book. Now she would have to find another way of keeping its existence hidden from her husband.

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A/N: This was just a short oneshot I thought of today. I thought it was a shame that there are so few Northanger Abbey fan fictions so I decided to write one of my own. Your review would mean a lot to me.


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